On Wednesday, Republican-turned-Libertarian and Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr wrote an Op-Ed piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in which he expressed his views about the recent FISA Bill that was passed by Congress just prior to the August Recess. Introduced by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and named the Protect America Act of 2007, the bill was passed by … [Read more...] about Ex-Republican Bob Barr Condemns Recent FISA Bill
Give War A Chance
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Give War A Chance
(Updated) Today’s Iraq War Cold Shower Is Brought To You By . . .
. . . the U.S. intelligence community and Senator John Warner. As noted in previous posts here, the spooks have vetted a declassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, only a small portion of which was released earlier in the month. The report concludes that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may not have the ability or capacity to "push forward" … [Read more...] about (Updated) Today’s Iraq War Cold Shower Is Brought To You By . . .
Quote Of The Day: Krugman On GOP Immigration Debate
Paul Krugman, writing in New York Times (select) has our quote of the day: Quite simply, America is becoming less white, mainly because of immigration. Hispanic and Asian voters were only 4 percent of the electorate in 1980, but they were 11 percent of voters in 2004 — and that number will keep rising for the foreseeable future. Those numbers are the reason Karl Rove … [Read more...] about Quote Of The Day: Krugman On GOP Immigration Debate
Guest Poet: The Hillary Poem
Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: Most Democrats and Republicans finally agree on something. Both seem determined that Hillary Clinton top the Democratic ticket in 2008. Republicans know she's their only hope for victory that year. And democrats, well, Democrats are so immersed in Clinton cultism that common sense, or … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: The Hillary Poem
Troop Deployments
Sandy Huffaker, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Troop Deployments
Fox News Cancels Democrat-Snubbed Debate
Fox News, increasingly shunned and challenged by Democratic candidates and progressive bloggers, has canceled a highly touted debate -- a watershed development that could have implications on several fronts: Fox News and a black political group say they will not hold a Sept. 23 Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, which the leading candidates already were planning to … [Read more...] about Fox News Cancels Democrat-Snubbed Debate
Internal displacement at all-time high after surge
The surge of US forces in Iraq since February has led to an increase in internally displaced Iraqis across the country, according to two humanitarian groups. Statistics collected by one of the two humanitarian groups, the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, indicate that the total number of internally displaced Iraqis has more than doubled, to 1.1 million from 499,000, … [Read more...] about Internal displacement at all-time high after surge
The Nike Theory of Genocide Response
Anybody can come up with reasons for Israel to turn away the Darfur refugees. Anybody could have (and did) come up with reasons to turn back Jewish refugees in the Holocaust. Avoiding one's responsibilities to the victims of genocide is easy, and easier to justify. But Jews have always been insistent that nation's were wrong to do so. We've staked a significant amount of moral … [Read more...] about The Nike Theory of Genocide Response
Proposed Changes to CoA
Regular readers may have noticed that the standard, scales-of-justice image for our "Center of Attention" (CoA) feature was missing from today's installment. And why was that? Because I thought it was growing a bit stale and was overdue for a change; which, in turn, led me to wonder if a larger overhaul of the feature might be in order. CoA has never been a big … [Read more...] about Proposed Changes to CoA
American Radical Muslim: Korean Hostages are “Terrorists”
Classy: Don't fool yourselves the Taliban are not barbarians like the US & it's coalition forces NAY, these Korean Crusaders were tried and sentenced just as the spy Daniel Pearl was. No apology from this Muslim, rather a BIG smile and lots of Duaa (supplications) for my Taliban brothers in Islam. The crime? Trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. The punishment, … [Read more...] about American Radical Muslim: Korean Hostages are “Terrorists”
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: A MAP IN FLUX?
The 2008 Potential to Reshape the Electoral Landscape A whole generation of young Americans may be growing up with the impression that the nation's electoral map is locked into a rough balance between the Democrats and Republicans, with their states sharply etched in shades of blue and red. It is an understandable impression. After months of campaigning and the … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: A MAP IN FLUX?
Iraq wasn’t like Vietnam, until it was
That is, until it suited the president to make the comparison. Which he did. Yesterday: President Bush defended his ongoing military commitment in Iraq by linking the conflict there to the Vietnam War, arguing Wednesday that withdrawing U.S. troops would lead to widespread death and suffering as it did in Southeast Asia three decades ago. "One unmistakable legacy of … [Read more...] about Iraq wasn’t like Vietnam, until it was
More Canadian Dead
The unpleasant latest: "The dangers of Afghanistan were driven further Wednesday night with news that two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed and another soldier and two Radio-Canada television journalists were injured." The Canadian death toll in Afghanistan since 2002 now stands at 68, including a diplomat. Yes, far fewer than the number of Afghans … [Read more...] about More Canadian Dead
Confusion
I cannot say much about this news, except for that the head of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, seems to be a bit confused... to say the least. Where he first refused to call the killings of Armenians during World War I 'genocide,' he now has changed his mind due to public pressure: In a dramatic reversal, the Anti-Defamation League�s national director has issued … [Read more...] about Confusion
Is Iraq Like Bosnia?
David Dryer, my co-blogger over at Foreign Policy Watch, has written a fascinating piece about the oft-stated notion that Iraq is like Bosnia, and that it should be treated as such (i.e. divided into pieces). It's definitely worth a read. … [Read more...] about Is Iraq Like Bosnia?
It’s Not Just a Coincidence: When Everything Is Wondrously Illuminated
The concept of the coincidence -- like bumping into a long-lost friend on the street whom you had dreamt about the night before -- has undergone a metamorphosis of a sort as my dotage approaches. I have come to see these “events†as being more predestinated than merely coincidental. And usually for a reason. So it was when I brought home two movie DVDs the other day that … [Read more...] about It’s Not Just a Coincidence: When Everything Is Wondrously Illuminated
Center of Attention
A round up of recent posts by a few centrist, moderate, and independent bloggers. Dennis Sanders finds a rarity: A think-tank for centrist Republicans. Elyas Bakhtiari chimes in on (a) the already-much-discussed AP-Ipsos poll re: book-reading among U.S. adults of different political persuasions; and (b) the Harris poll re: the same population's (woeful) world affairs … [Read more...] about Center of Attention
Mainstream Writers And Journalists Attacks On Bloggers Are Often Inaccurate Reporting
And so the rear-guard action continues: the hue and cry from some journalists and writers who apparently blast bloggers but have assumed the attributes of some of the Internet's laziest bloggers who they try to lump together with the increasingly enterprising ones: Some of these critics of blogs: a) don't do their homework. b) lash out as blogging and bloggers as a … [Read more...] about Mainstream Writers And Journalists Attacks On Bloggers Are Often Inaccurate Reporting
Bush Edits Wikipedia
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch … [Read more...] about Bush Edits Wikipedia